#Everyone did just collective agree to just ignore Scott saying he's pro-life

[thedarklightwithinus]

Soul For A Soul.

A/N; Been working on this one for a while now. Also, why do I write the sad shit?

Words; 3.4k

Pairings; Steve Rogers x Stark!Reader, Natasha Romanoff x Platonic!Reader.

GIF not mine.

"You stay safe and you make sure you're careful out there." 

"We're going to collect a stone, Steve. There's not a lot that can go wrong." 

"Anything could go wrong, Y/N." 

"You listen to the Capsicle, Squirt." Tony said in passing.

"We don't have time to talk about this... I'll be safe and do what's right if you promise me you'll do the same. Deal?" 

The light hit Steve Rogers face at such a beautiful angle as you looked up at him, taking in his features as though you had never done so before. You smiled watching as he raised a brow at you before he nodded, muttering out that he was happy with your deal. 

Time travel. Never in a million years would you have thought you'd be minutes away from time traveling. As a little girl you had read stories about time travelling, watched films about it too. The world could say what they liked about Tony Stark. The words that labelled him was nothing compared to just how much of a genius he actually was. His mind truly was something else. Sure, you had a piece of that but Tony was a hero to you before he was to anyone else. 

As you walked beside Steve to the podium that would be centre stage for the actual travelling, you couldn't help but twist your arms around, liking the feeling of the matching suit you all wore.

Quantum Suits, Tony and Bruce had called them. They were made of fabric that would protect you all from the Quantum realm you were minute from travelling through. Under the suits themselves were different uniforms depending on the person and who was going where. 

You walked behind Nat, moving up onto the podium and standing on the outside, facing inwards. A large hand gripped yours as you grinned at Steve, finding it difficult to hold your excitement in. You were one of the fist people to partake in time travel and you'd be dammed if you tried to hide your excitement. 

When everyone was in place, Steve spoke up. "Five years ago, we lost." He began, squeezing your hand gently. "All of us... We lost friends, we lost family, we lost a part of ourselves. Today, we have a chance to take it all back. You know your teams. You know your missions. Get the stones, get them back. One round trip each... No mistakes, no do-overs. Most of us are going somewhere we know, that doesn't mean we should know what to expect. Be carful, look out for each other. This is the fight of our life's."

"And we're gonna win." Tony added on.

"Whatever it takes." You whispered, raising a soft brow at Steve who nodded.

"Good luck."

You released Steve's hand, moving to slide across the platform in order to insure that you weren't touching anyone. You breathed out, intaking a fresh breath of air as Bruce moved away from the keyboard and back onto the platform. "Trackers engaged." He informed everyone, fiddling with the control panel on his arm. 

"This is gonna be so cool." You squealed out, unable to contain your excitement as Scott agreed, looking far to happy to be among the first to partake in time travel as well. ”Tony, I know I’ve given you shit for many, many years but this is the coolest thing you’ve done for me."

The others chuckled, shaking their heads as the platform hummed to life and began to whirl, light filling up the air from the ground. A Helmet encased your head in nano-seconds as you looked around, taking in the faces of the team you were so proud of. 

You looked down and watched as the floor began to open beneath your feet, an overwhelming surge of pressure filled every part of your body as it dragged you down. 

A blink. That was all it took before you were filled with pressure once more and collapsed to the ground, breathing deeper than you ever had before. Your helmet retracted, giving you the fresh air you so desperately needed. 

"Y/N, you good?" Rhodey asked, breathing deeper than he usually would himself. 

"I'm... Fine." You muttered, allowing the man to help you to your feet. "We... Are legit in two thousand and fourteen right now." You gazed up at the sky in awe. "I wonder what I was doing right now."

"With Steve, fu-"

"Lets not finish that." Rhodey rolled his eyes.

Natasha snorted, watching while you raised a brow at her with a small head tilt. "Filthy." She muttered to you, laughing along when you did. 

"I can still hear you both!" Rhodey all but shouted out as the two of you fell silent. "And do you mind, we're kind of busy over here." 

"Can you hurry it up?" You whined. He didn't reply as he continued directing Nebula in lowering the Benatar safely to the ground. 

The four of you, along with Rockets shrunken ship had been sent to the planet Morag which was located in the Andromeda galaxy. Nebula and Rhodey would be retrieving the power stone on the planet while you and Nat would be taking the Benatar to Vormir and collect the soul stone. 

Once the ship was on solid ground and ready, you and Nat bid a farewell and good luck to Nebula and Rhodey and climbed aborted the Benatar. 

With coordinates set for planet Vormir, the two of you set off for the soul stone. 

”I’m telling you Nat, if I would've known we’d have to walk the length of a fucking planet and then climb the worlds biggest mountain, I would’ve went with Banner.” You huffed, ignoring Natasha as she laughed. 

”Here.” The red head spoke, handing over her water bottle she had just drunk from as she took a few deep breaths. "Can't be to far, right? Nebula said to climb the tallest mountain. There can't be much further to go." She said, looking up and eyeing the arched structure that seemed to stop around fifteen feet above them. 

You shrugged and took a few sips of the water she had offered, taking a small break from the long climb. The mountain in which you were steadily climbing was rocky and slippery which left little to no grip. On numerous occasions you had to stop yourself from falling.

The mountain itself was located almost as soon as you had entered the atmosphere. Nebula had said the tallest one which left little to no doubt to which one it was they had to climb as every other mountain was barely half the size. 

"Come on, Y/N." Natasha sighed, looking like she had caught enough of her breath to carry on. "We're on the clock."

You nodded, capping the bottle and handing It back to her. With a deep intake of breath, you followed after her, mindful of the incline and the wetness of the rocks. 

What felt to you like an hour but was closer to four minutes later, Nat came to a sudden stop which caused you to narrowly miss running into her back as you forced yourself to a stop, holding your hands out in order to balance yourself against the ground that threatened to send you tumbling all the way back down. 

"Nat, what the he-" You cut yourself of with a foreign noise that slipped out before you could contain it as you took a look over Natasha's shoulder. 

"Welcome." The dark, ghostly figure spoke, hovering above the ground in a patch of darkness. "Natasha. Daughter of Ivan. Y/N. Daughter of Howard."

"Who are you?" Natasha demanded rather than asked, raising her gun and pointing it at the figure while you stared in bewilderment.

"Consider me... A guide." He answered in the same tone, seemingly not threatened by Natasha's gun. "To you... And to all who seek the Soul Stone."

"Oh, good!" You exclaimed, moving around Natasha and raising a brow at the figure. "If you could just tell us where it is, we'll be on our way out of here in no time." 

"Oh, my dear... If only-" He moved forward out of the darkness he was surrounded in. "It were that easy." 

Silence. 

You side-eyed Natasha, wondering if you were seeing the man clearly. When the smallest twitch in her eye caught your own, you knew she was seeing what you were seeing. You watched intently as he drifted over towards the edge of the cliff, darkness moving around him as he did so. You blamed your brother for what fell out of your mouth next. "Wow... What's up with your face? It looks like you've had a bad day with a juicer." 

He seemed to ignore your words as her turned, setting his beady eyes on the two of you. "What you so desperately seek lies in front of you." Slower than you had moved before, you walked beside Nat to where he stood and took a look over the cliff edge. To slip and fall off would be a long drop. It was far, and all you could really make out was different shades of purpled. "As does what you fear." Yeah, It’s a really long drop.

"The stones down there." Natasha mumbled, loud enough for you to hear what she had said clearly. 

You looked to Natasha who looked suddenly so upset with what he had told them. You eyes drifted over to the red face, raising a brow at the skull-like features he had. When he said nothing to indicate that he was lying, you huffed. 

"The stones down there?" You all but whined out, rolling your eyes. "We spend how ever long climbing this stupid mountain and the stones been down there this whole time? That's what you're telling us right now, Skull face?" 

"The stone is down there... For one of you." He answered, his cloak continuing to flow beneath where he hovered a few inches above the rocky ground. "For the other... In order to take the stone... You must lose that which you love. An everlasting exchange... A soul for a soul." 

"Well, shit." You muttered, sighing slightly as you tilted your head down at the ground. 

Natasha moved back from the edge, locating a small log lick rock and taking a seat on it while you moved over to the left and slid down the rocky wall, crossing your legs and resting your chin on your hands. 

"Cons and pros." You murmured to yourself. "Cons and pros." 

Twenty-three minutes and sixteen seconds of silence passed by as the two of you sat on opposite ends of the mountain and though you tried not to, you found yourself thinking over your life. 

Growing up a Stark had not been easy. You were always living in your fathers shadow, a man you could not remember as he had died when you were a baby. Your mother had also passed which left you in the less then capable hands of your brother, one Antony Stark. Being particularly young himself when your parents had died he was less then happy to spend his weekends looking after a kid rather than out partying like he had done before the two of you were orphaned. 

You were forever thankful that Tony had stepped up, taught you everything you needed to know and more. You were who you were because of him and though you had never thanked him outright, you knew that deep down, he knew how grateful you were to him. Which gave you the nerve to feel the way you felt. It was simple to work out what Skull face was getting at. One of you would have to go over the cliff. If you could give Tony back the people the world had lost... Peter... It would all be worth it. 

Steven Rogers was a different story, however. He would be heartbroken, he would hate you for a while but deep down, you knew he could never hate you. What he was loosing in love he was gaining in family. Bucky, Sam, Wanda... He would get his family back and while, sure, he'd loose you. He'd still have your love in his heart. He'd never be without it. 

"Nat?" You called out, your voice travelling in the wind as she raised a brow, continuing to stare ahead. "How do we know he isn't lying?" You found yourself asking half-heartedly. You knew he wasn't lying. Why would he? 

"I don't thin so, Y/N." She answered, her voice void of emotion. "He knew my father's name." 

"He knew mine too?" You raised a brow. "What of it." 

"I never knew my father." Nat admitted, looking over at you. "Thanos left this place with the stone... Without his daughter. That's not a coincidence." 

"Whatever it takes." You whispered, remembering the three words you had said to Steve before you left. You stood up on shaky legs, moving slowly towards the middle of the cliff and eyed the purple and red sky.

"Whatever it takes." Natasha repeated, pushing herself up to come and stand beside you looking suddenly very solemn. "Y/N, if we don't get that stone... Billions of people stay dead."

"Mhm…" You muttered, tilting your head at the beauty that was the sky. "For being a planet of death... It's very pretty. I suppose we both know who it's gotta be then." You hummed, taking a deep breath in order to feel the freshness of the foreign air. You smiled, turning to look at Natasha who looked very solemn herself. You're eyes narrowed as you looked at her. "Yeah... I wasn't gonna say anything... But, I think we mean different people." 

"I've thought it over... Look, for the last five years, I've been trying to do one thing. Get to right here." Natasha looked like what she was saying was gonna be final. "That's all it's been about. Bringing everybody back."

"You think either of us want to do this right now?" 

"You're not. I am." Natasha said, turning to face you full on. "I'm saving your life. You've got people to get ba-"

"So do you!" You exclaimed, turning to face her as you seethed almost. "You're not copping out, Natasha. You have unfinished business to attend to." 

"I'm not letting you do this, Stark." 

"Okay." You whispered, smiling through the water that filled your eyes. "You win, Nat." You reached out with both hands, gripping her face and pulling her towards you. Her arms wrapped around your waist as yours slid down and over her shoulders. You turned your face, your trembling lips pressing against her temple as you squeezed your eyes shut. "Tell Steve and my brother I love them." 

You felt the read head tense just as your left hand was encased in cold metal as the nano-tech covered your wrist as well. Just as she was about to pull away harshly, you pressed your hand flat against her back and sent a bolt of electricity through her. She stiffened on the spot as her legs gave out beneath her. Quicker than a blink, you had lowered her safely to the ground and spun on your feet, sprinting towards the edge of the cliff. 

You were airborne for a split second as you went over the cliff. However, before you could feel the cold wind around you, your body crashed into the sharp rocks that were sticking out the side of the cliff as you hissed, yelling out in pain. 

You're eyes shot up as you saw Natasha's red face, her eyes dripping tears you had hardly seen before as one fell to land on your cheek. Her hand gripped yours tightly as she lay flat on the cliff-top, stopping you from falling and further. "G-Give me y-your hand!" She stuttered out, her voice thick with emotion. "Give m-me your h-hand, Y/N Stark!" 

"Nat, nat... Natasha!" You called out, stopping her from demanding that you grip her tightly as you let out a small sob. "Please! Let me go."

"Y-You can't t-take this c-chance away from me!" She shouted, openly sobbing for the first time in her life. "It's supposed t-to be m-me!" 

"You go back there with the stone, you bring everyone back and you continue looking after the world. That's who you are and that's who you're going to be. They need you... Now let me go!" You shouted, not wanting to prolong the torture of dangling above your destiny. 

"They need you more!" She screamed, trying to reach out further in order to get a better grip on you. "T-Tony and S-Steve, they'll n-never f-forgive you!" 

"Then so be it." You whispered, raising your legs and placing them against the cliff wall. "Knowing I kept you alive is enough for me. I love you, Natasha. Save them." You squeezed your eyes closed, forced your legs off against the cliff and pulled your arm sharply out of her grasp. 

Natasha Romanoff's scream filled your ears as it grew quieter and quieter. Your eyes opened on their own accord to see that you were falling. Your perception of time non-existent, everything slowed down until there was nothing, only you and the sky above, the sky that seemed to swallow you whole. Your hand reached out, kissing the sky as the coldness of the air bit at your exposed skin. Everything was a blur, a blur that swirled out of existence. Free in the air, you smiled, closed your eyes and surrendered yourself to the fate you knew was coming.

The world rushed by in a blur and you know the pain was coming. It goes by fast, yet slow, almost suspended. Then... Impact.

Natasha Romanoff collapsed to the ground, chocking out in almost hysterical breaths. Her eyesight was blurry, from the onslaught of tears or the bright lights that were dying down, she couldn't be entirely sure. She sobbed openly, her hand clenching the yellow stone she so desperately wanted to throw away.

She heard a few happy cheers go round at the fact they had succeeded in collecting the stones and travelling through time. She blocked the noise out, wanting to scream and shout at them. How dare they celebrate all they had gained when they had lost a part of them in doing so. It was then that she rationalised... They didn't know the loss. They had no clue.

They were yet to feel the pain she was feeling. As though someone had reached into her chest and ripped her heart out against her will. It was as she was in the middle of chocking on a particularly large wave of tears that someone finally took notice of the read head on the ground, trying to grip the floor as though she so desperately needed to anchor herself. 

"Nat?" Someone called out. 

She felt her suit retract around her as she shook her head, trying to contain her heartache that felt to much like she was dying. 

"Nat?" Someone else called. 

Natasha turned her right hand against the floor, her palm stuttering open and she glared down at the stone, watching as one of her tears fell to land on it. 

"Nat?" It was Tony who had called her last, kneeling down as he gripped her shoulder. She could feel the way her hand shook from the small amount of contact. "Where's Y/N? Nat, where's my sister?" Natasha slowly lifted her head, her eyes focusing on Steve who stood with furrowed brows a few feet from them before she looked at Tony who seemed to, deep down, know where his sister was. 

Nebula was the one to speak what had happened into the air as a series of shouts rang out. Thor was trying to justify that time travel worked and they had the stones so they could bring her back while Bruce was demanding to know why she had been allowed to go to Vormir. Steve had lowered himself to the ground, resting his head in his hands as his shoulder shook. 

Tony Stark, big brother and guardian looked into Natasha's eyes once more and prayed for a miracle. "Where's my sister?" 

"A soul for a soul." Natasha whispered.

.

#Steve Rogers #steve rogers x reader #steve rogers x you #steve rogers x y/n #steve rogers x stark!reader #natasha romanoff #natasha romanoff x reader #natasha romanoff x you #natasha romanoff x stark!reader #tony stark #tony stark x reader #natasha romanoff x y/n #tony stark x you #tony stark x sister!reader #marvel #captain america #captain america x reader #captain america x you #captain america x y/n #black widow

[ironfidus]

Quid Pro Quo - Part III

Summary: Peter survives the Snap, and now it's up to him to bring the Vanished back to life.

Main Pairings: Peter Parker & Tony Stark, Peter Parker/Shuri

Read here on AO3 (@a_matter_of_loyalty)

:::

Chapter 3: Assembling the Team

Chapter Summary: Peter and Shuri meet up with the rest of the Avengers, time travel device in hand. They work a few details out.

Peter tries (and fails) not to freak out.

:::

Earth-199999: October 10, 2023

New Avengers Facility, New York

The next day, armed with a fully-functional Time Travel GPS and a newly improved shield for the good captain himself, Peter and Shuri boarded a quinjet and flew to the Avengers’ compound.

As soon as they landed, Peter hopped off the quinjet and headed towards Steve, standing alone outside the compound. “Well, don’t you look awfully cheerful,” he quipped sarcastically as he neared the soldier. “Feeling stuck yet?”

Steve turned to him with a wry smile. “Please tell me you came as reinforcement.”

“Let me guess,”—Peter rolled his eyes—“someone turned into a baby.”

Steve nodded helplessly.

Peter snorted. “Luckily for you, I have just what you need.” He tossed Steve the working GPS, waited for Shuri to come to a stop beside him and hand him the shield, and then promptly held it out for Steve’s inspection. “Let’s get started, shall we?”

Steve stared.

“He means, we’re here to save your collective asses,” Shuri added with a smirk. “Speaking of ‘collective’, we should start rounding up the others. We’ve got Clint Barton’s coordinates loaded up on the quinjet’s navigation system. Where’s everyone else?”

:::

It turned out that Steve had already gathered Bruce, Rhodey, Nebula and Rocket together along with Natasha and Scott Lang.

With Natasha flying off to recruit Clint, that only left Thor and Carol in the wind. Bruce gulped, stepped forward, and volunteered to call in Thor with Rocket while everyone else started brainstorming ideas.

“Good luck.” Shuri waved at them. “We’re going to need everyone on deck for this.”

“Yeah,” Bruce agreed distractedly as he boarded Rocket’s spaceship, ignoring Rocket’s holler of hey, watch your step, man! I just got this upgraded, okay? “We’ll bring Thor back.”

Shuri nodded, staying outside to watch them depart. When she walked back into the compound, Peter flashed her a grim, determined smile. 

“I left a message for Danvers,” he informed her. “I’m not sure when she’ll receive it, or if we’ll even need her, but it never hurts to be prepared—and, well, if we want to be prepared then the strongest superhero alive is definitely a useful person to have at our back.”

“Good call,” Shuri agreed. “Where are we at now?”

“We’ve pinpointed the general locations of the time, mind and space stones so far. We’re waiting for everyone else to arrive,” Steve reported. “We’re hoping Thor will be able to shed some light on the whereabouts of the reality stone.”

“As for the other two...” Natasha started.

“Rocket has more information on the power stone than I do, but I might be able to help with the soul stone,” Nebula spoke up.

Peter and Shuri exchanged a glance before Shuri nodded. “Tell us everything you know.”

:::

Eventually, the elusive Clint Barton and Thor Odinson were returned to the compound with Natasha, Bruce and Rocket at the lead. Peter and Shuri called them over, having set up the device for a test-run.

One test-run later, Clint was heaving on the floor, a baseball glove clutched desperately to his chest. He looked up at them, tears and awe in his eyes, and nodded.

Natasha was instantly at his side, kneeling and rubbing his back comfortingly. “You’re okay,” she soothed. “We’re here.”

“I could hear her voice,” he said to Natasha, breathless. “I heard Lila.”

Natasha’s breath hitched.

Clint didn’t have to elaborate for the rest of them. They knew, at once, what that meant.

The Time Travel GPS worked. 

Hopes reaffirmed, Peter choked out a hysterical laugh and pulled Shuri into a one-armed hug. Aunt May, he thought, Mr. Stark. We’re going to bring you back.

Just you wait.

:::

Test-run over and done with, they all regrouped in the common room.

Putting their heads together, they managed to locate the remaining stones and work out a timeline. Once they were done pinpointing the most opportune location of each infinity stone, they assigned tasks:

Thor, accompanied by Rocket (much to the latter’s apparent chagrin), would be responsible for procuring the reality stone from his home planet. Thor frowned, deep and conflicted, but did not complain. 

(“He lost everything, you know,” Bruce had told Peter, long ago. The explanation had come shortly after Peter returned to Earth, on the brink of death, having drifted aimlessly through space for weeks on end with depleting resources. He remembered spotting Thor, sitting quietly off to himself, head bowed under the weight of their failure. When he'd quietly asked Bruce if Thor was okay—barely managing to contain his boundless excitement, because that was Dr. Bruce Banner, legendary scientist, he was talking to—Bruce had looked unfathomably sad. “He'd just lost his planet—his home—too, to a different enemy, mere moments before we encountered Thanos. As if that wasn't enough, Thanos took... everything from him. Thor had to watch his brother die, strangled to death at the Mad Titan's hand. His last living family member.”

At Bruce's solemn pronouncement, Peter's excitement at finally meeting his greatest heroes had quickly died down. They were all in mourning, after all. And losing the last of your family? That, Peter could relate to.)

(But Loki didn't die in the Snap. He won't be able to come back, Peter realized now, his heart sinking to his feet. No matter how this plays out, Thor won't get his brother back. He glanced back at Thor, who was still frowning, and fought the urge to stalk over and engulf Thor in a crushing hug. Thor deserved better. 

But we rarely get what we deserve in life, and there won't be any gleeful family reunions in Thor's future, Peter thought with second-hand despair. If Thor stumbles across Loki in the past... it won't be with the hope that he'll get to have Loki in his life again. It'll be as a final goodbye.)

Nebula and Rhodey formed another pair; they would head to Morag to do a little thieving and steal the power stone from the older Peter—Nebula was, evidently, thrilled by this; she grinned and said, barely audible, “I can’t wait to give Quill a taste of his own medicine. He was an outlaw once, you know.” 

Meanwhile, Natasha and Clint were entrusted with the safe retrieval of the soul stone. Destination: Vormir. Of everyone, they were perhaps the most excited about the process of the time heist itself, practically bouncing with anticipation. Well, Clint was bouncing, at least. Natasha would never be caught dead bouncing giddily. Still, if one looked closely enough—and Peter did—they would be able to see the faintest hint of a smile curling Natasha’s lips. As dangerous as Vormir was according to Nebula’s warnings, Clint and Natasha were almost eager to go; to them, this was just another mission, and as long as they were partnered together, they were satisfied. 

(Natasha would never admit it aloud, of course, but Clint was her best friend. They were thick as thieves, in every sense of the saying. They had each other’s backs.)

In fact, when they heard their task, the two immediately shared a conspiratorial smirk and a fist-bump. “What do you think, Nat?” Clint nudged her, and Peter saw his world-weary look soften slightly for the first time since he’d arrived, hair half-shaved and eyes haunted. “Like old times?”

Peter clearly wasn’t the only one to notice Clint’s lightened demeanor, because Natasha smiled softly back at him, relief swarming in her eyes. “Just like old times,” she agreed, voice a mixture of fond and indulgent in the way she only ever was with Clint. 

Peter thought back to Natasha’s intermittent voicemails over the last five years, interspersed over a few months at a time and ranging in topics from what if I’m too late, what if he gave up, what if he’s already dead to there was another incident on the news: twelve dead, all with bounties on their head for the murder of a sixteen year old girl. I saw her obituary—she looked like Lila Barton would today, if Lila had been given the chance to grow up. It… it has to be him.

Peter shook his head and looked away. Natasha had finally found her best friend after five years of missing him, of looking for him in every nook and cranny of New York and then the rest of the states. He was happy for her, he was, but at the same time… it was hard not to envy her for it.

(He’d get to see Ned again. He would. And the second he did, he’d wrap Ned up in a hug and never let go.)

(He’d see all of them again.)

“That just leaves the space, time and mind stones for the rest of us, then,” Steve concluded, and Peter shoved the memory of Ned’s ear-splitting grin into a locked vault. This wasn’t the time. “There’s five of us remaining—Peter, Bruce, Shuri and Scott, you guys are coming with me to New York. Right after Loki invades in 2012.”

“What’s the plan, Cap?” Peter asked seriously. 

Steve gave them all an appraising look. “Bruce,” he decided, “you’re the calmest and most rational of all of us. You’ll speak with the wizard and try to persuade him into giving up the time stone willingly—hopefully, you’ll be able to get it without resorting to violence.”

Bruce looked strained. You’re the calmest and most rational of all of us, Steve had said—and he’d been right. But it was only true because Bruce had forced himself to learn how to be calm, at all times; he’d needed to be calm, lest he wanted to turn into a giant rage monster and obliterate everyone around him. He’d since fixed that issue, of course, melding his two personalities into one comfortable compromise, but he hadn’t forgotten how much he’d struggled with self-control. He hadn’t forgotten the conflict that had plagued him for a large part of his life.

“Actually,” Peter interjected, catching the unease in Bruce’s expression, “they don’t answer to ‘wizards’ anymore. Apparently, the comparison to fake magicians of legends and fairy tales is a major insult. Who would’ve guessed, right? Anyway, they prefer to go by Masters of the Mystic Arts, or so Wong tells me.”

Bruce smiled gratefully at Peter for the distraction, his discomfort fading by the second. Peter only winked at him. Having regained his composure during Peter’s nonsense blabbering—which nearly everyone had learned to tune out by now, save perhaps Lang going by the confusion on his face—he turned to Steve and cleared his throat, agreeing, “I’ll reason with him.”

(Peter snorted. “Not to be a killjoy, but the guy I met was way beyond reasoning when it came to that stone,” he muttered under his breath. Everyone else ignored him.)

“At the same time,” Steve continued, expertly side-stepping and sweeping a rug over Peter’s commentary, “Peter, Shuri, Scott and I will secure the space and mind stones. We’ll have to extract both before the Avengers from 2012 can hand them over to SHIELD—that would be disastrous for obvious reasons.”

Scott nodded enthusiastically, eager to prove himself. “I won’t let you down, Cap,” he swore, lacking the bitterness and cynicism of the other heroes. He might not have had to live five years without Hope—not like the rest of them had lived five years without the people they loved—but he could imagine their pain, and right now, it was enough. 

“I’m sure you won’t,” Steve said with a smile. Scott beamed back at him, and Steve turned to Peter and Shuri. “What about you two? You guys got it?”

Shuri hesitated. She understood what had to be done, but… “Is this really the only plan you could come up with?” she bit out protectively, chancing a glance at her boyfriend. Peter was staring at Steve shell-shocked, face pale and drawn with fear. “Shoving Peter directly into the path of Tony Stark? Have you already forgotten that Peter had to watch him die?”

Peter stumbled backwards as if struck, and Shuri shot him an apologetic look. He didn’t even notice, too caught up in the echo of Peter had to watch him die. 

I’ve had to watch him die a thousand times in the last five years, Peter thought, numbly. I’ve watched him die again and again and again. And each time, there’s nothing I can do. Each time, I can’t save him. 

What good was it, being Spider-Man, when he couldn’t even save the people he cared about? The people he loved? What good was it, if he just froze up uselessly when he was needed?

What good was he?

(Don’t do this to yourself, kid, he heard Mr. Stark’s voice in the back of his head, an illusion of the man he’d tried to save. Don’t do this. 

Peter gritted his teeth. I deserve this, he thought. Because he did. No matter what anyone else said, no matter what anyone else tried to convince him of, he did deserve it. He deserved it because Mr. Stark had trusted him, had counted on him, had stared at him with hope burning brightly in his eyes and said you’re an Avenger now, kid with all the solemnity in the world, as if he was knighting Peter. Mr. Stark had put his faith in Peter, and Peter had failed him so utterly and completely.

Peter had failed, and it was Mr. Stark that paid the price for it. It was Mr. Stark that died because of it.

I deserve this, he told himself again.

No, you don’t, that voice inside his head that sounded suspiciously like Tony Stark on three hours of sleep, like Aunt May when she caught him blaming himself for Uncle Ben’s death, like Shuri when she found him huddled into a ball in one corner of the lab, argued. It sounded like solace. Don’t you dare blame yourself for this, kid.

Yes, I do. He deserved to be punished. Maybe Spider-Man believed in second chances, maybe Spider-Man gave out second chances, but Peter Parker didn’t deserve a second chance. 

Except. Except, except, except.

He’d been given one anyway. He had a second chance in his grasp, and he’d never forgive himself if he let the universe down a second time because he was too much of a coward to face the hero he’d already let down once before.

He had to do it.)

Steve grimaced, his face settling into a horrified expression. Admittedly, he hadn’t thought of that, too blinded by the thought of getting his friends back to realize how this would affect Peter. It brought him immeasurable shame, now, to realize what he’d done. He was supposed to be Captain America—he was supposed to embody morality and righteousness. Where was his virtue now? “Shuri—”

“Peter still hasn’t gotten over his death, Cap,” Shuri snapped, and her voice was indignant yet sad at the same time. Regretful, Steve realized. “Surely, there has to be something else Peter can do. A job that doesn’t put him face-to-face with the mentor he lost. Because I know I sure as hell wouldn’t be able to handle seeing my brother in the past, not when—” she faltered, stumbling to an abrupt halt as she realized what she’d been about to say: not when our success isn’t certain yet. She swallowed down the doubts—saying it would make it real—and finished, instead, “Not when he hasn’t become the brother I remember yet.”

Steve nodded, chastised. “You’re right,” he sighed. “Peter, what do you want to—”

“I’ll do it,” Peter interrupted, stopping Steve in his tracks. Behind his back, out of sight from everyone else, his hands were clenched into fists, fingernails digging so deep into his skin that his palm bled. “It’s fine. I can take it. I can face Mr. Stark. I can.” I have to. 

He was Spider-Man, after all. He was an Avenger, now. A hero. He couldn’t freeze up again.

Steve frowned. “But you don’t have to,” he insisted. “I shouldn’t have assigned you to the Battle of New York, I—”

“I can do it,” Peter repeated, pleaded. 

“Peter…” Shuri whispered.

Peter bit his lip and gave her a small, firm nod. “It’s okay, Shuri,” he reassured, but the quiver in his voice belied his words. He spoke of conviction, but none of that selfsame conviction was reflected in his appearance. “I’ll be okay. It’s been five years.”

Yeah, Shuri thought. Five years, and I haven’t gotten over my brother’s death. ‘Five years’ doesn’t mean you’re obligated to be fine about it. None of us have moved on. But…

“Are you sure?” she asked, in lieu of protesting further. Peter, after all, was the strongest person she knew. If anyone could handle facing their long-lost mentor with elegance, it was Peter Parker. And if he can’t, I’ll be there to hold him up above the water. I won’t let him fall. 

“I’m sure,” he insisted firmly. He focused on Steve Rogers—on Captain America, who he’d once looked up to as an idol before he’d finally met him and realized he was just as flawed and human as the rest of them. After that, Peter had stopped idolizing him and started seeing him as a teammate, a friend. “Let me do it, Cap,” he implored.

Peter wasn’t surprised when Steve gave in. As much as he was sure Steve was worried about him, he was even more sure that Steve wanted his friends back most of all. Steve had been forced to live without Bucky Barnes once before, after all. It was clear to anyone that he wasn’t willing to go through that again, for any longer.

They all had their priorities. Bucky was Steve’s.

“Fine,” Steve allowed. “But you need to stick to the plan, got it? No surprises.”

“Surprises? Me?” Peter smiled cheekily, jumping at the opportunity to bring them all back to more lighthearted topics. “Never.”

Steve just snorted disbelievingly and pointed an accusing finger at him. “I know you, Queens,” he simply said, which was code for: you’re a rebellious little shit. Which, okay, fair.

Peter rolled his eyes. “Yeah, yeah, fine. I get it. No surprises. I swear.” When Steve looked unconvinced, Peter held up three fingers and reaffirmed, “Relax, I won’t cause you any problems. Scout’s honor.”

“Nice try. I know you were never a boy scout,” Steve pointed out, deadpan.

“Anyhoo!” Peter swiftly changed subject, ignoring Steve’s indignant spluttering as he moved on. “We all have our assignments. We all know what we have to do, and we all know the stakes,” Peter carried on, rubbing his hands together, and Steve let it go as the team dutifully gathered into a loose huddle. “We have one chance to make this work. One. Let’s make it count.”

“We will,” Steve said, confidently. It was all he said—all he had to say—but Peter heard the unspoken words nonetheless: We have to.

Peter caught Steve’s eye amidst the rest of the team and nodded, once, in acknowledgement. They had too much on the line to fail now. The universe was counting on them.

:::

“Peter,”—Natasha’s quiet voice drew his attention away from Shuri and Bruce as they prepped the time travel device, and he glanced back to find her approaching him with swift, purposeful steps—“I just wanted to say…” she started, her voice sinfully rich. (Like the blood she’d worked so hard to scrub off her ledger over all these years, Peter couldn’t help but think.) “Thank you. For taking a chance. For doing all of this.” 

There was something heart-stopping, Peter mused, about being thanked by a former master assassin. He’d never once doubted, of course, that the Snap took from everyone—that the Snap stopped everyone’s world. But it was different, witnessing Natasha’s gratitude. She was Natasha Romanoff, after all; the infamous Black Widow, peerless and unparalleled in her line of work. 

Untouchable.

He’d never heard her say “thank you” before.

(He didn’t want to hear it now, not for this.)

“Don’t mention it,” he brushed off with a small but genuine smile. He hesitated, considered her carefully, and then smiled wider. “You were right. We have to make a stand.”

Quietly, beautifully, Natasha Romanoff smiled at him. Her smile was breathtaking and heartbreaking all at once—her smile, Peter thought, marked her expression like a jagged scar, hopeful but cautious, wary.

Peter swallowed a flare of pity (he knew Natasha Romanoff would balk at the thought of anyone pitying her) and adamantly did not ask which wound left it behind.

:::

Peter jumped in surprise, and Natasha silently slunk off, when Bruce announced that they were ready. He calmed himself down – breathe in, breathe out, you’ve got this, this is going to work – and rejoined the rest of his teammates.

He was numb as he listened to Steve take center-stage and deliver one of his infamous pep-talks with an ease Peter could only dream of possessing. Shuri came up beside him, eyes hard and determined, and Peter felt the nerves stirring in his gut settle slightly.

“You ready?” Shuri whispered out of the corner of her mouth, even as her eyes never left Steve.

Peter managed a faint smile for her. Not in the slightest, he thought privately to himself. And then, because he knew Shuri would get it—get him—he shook his head and repeated the same thing aloud.

Shuri only nodded in understanding, demeanor void of any judgement. “Me, too,” she whispered, and when Peter looked at her closer—really looked at her—he could see a hint of trepidation beneath the layer of confidence. Before he could say anything, Shuri slipped her hand into his and squeezed tightly. “But it’ll be fine, right? We’re in this together.”

The truth was, Peter had no idea if it would be fine. Who could tell if this would all work out for the better? But he thought of Mr. Stark’s eyes locked on his as he faded away into nothing, and of Shuri’s desperation and guilt, and he pushed away the unsettling uncertainty. Shuri needed him to be strong—they all did.

“Of course,” he said, squeezing back. And despite his residual fear, he found that he meant it. “Together. I’ve got your back.” There was no one else he’d rather traverse the space-time continuum with.

“Likewise,” she murmured, and the promise in her voice rang loud and clear in Peter’s ears, beyond even Steve’s reassurances a few feet away. 

Eventually, Steve’s voice died down as his motivational speech came to its conclusion. Peter and Shuri stepped forward, closing the gap in the circle of heroes, and Bruce began his countdown.

“Three…”

Peter looked down at Shuri’s fingers interlocked with his, as if they were each other’s lifelines, and closed his eyes. Please don’t let me lose anything else, he begged, a whispered prayer. Whether he was praying to some deity in the heavens, or to his own strength and will, he wasn’t sure. Please let me have what it takes to keep her safe.

“Two…”

He opened his eyes when he felt her gaze on him. She stared at him intently, as if aware of his train of thought, and mouthed one more time: Together.

Together, their commitment echoed in his mind. Always together.

They’d get through this together. They’d protect each other.

Together, they’d get the stones and reverse the worst moment of both their lives. They’d restore the universe to its rightful balance—they’d restore their universe. They’d come out on the other side of this victorious, with Mr. Stark, with Aunt May, with T’Challa—with everyone—back.

They’d win. (Together.)

“One.”

(We’re in this together.)

Peter gulped in a sharp breath as his world burst into color, his vision tunneling as he felt the floor drop out from beneath his feet. The real world melted away around him, and Peter felt himself fly. 

(And all the while, Peter held on tight to Shuri.)

:::

Chapter 1 | Chapter 2 | Chapter 3

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